Computer monitoring system, apparatus and method for monitoring appliance operation

ABSTRACT

A system and method to monitor individual appliance performance. A monitor module is provided for aggregating data from a plurality of appliances wherein the module includes. Included in the monitor device is a gateway device configured to capture operational data relating to each of the plurality of appliances and an analyzing device configured to determine individual operational characteristics for each of the appliances from analysis of the captured operational data. A notification device is further provided which is configured to provide information to a user regarding the determined operational characteristics for each of the appliances.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/182,877 filed Feb. 21, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/692,938 filed Nov. 22, 2019, which is acontinuation of Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/020,521 filed Jun. 27, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/153,378 filed May 12, 2016, which claimspriority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/160,408 filed May 12,2015 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to monitoring applianceoperation, and more particularly, to an electronic control system forproviding centralized monitoring of appliances.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With regards to electrical, water and gas appliances, a primary problemexists with regards to damage caused by faulty appliances and/orinefficient operation. A tertiary problem is that a device does notcurrently exist which monitors various appliances and appliance types ina household over time to determine if their fitness is deteriorating,determine their level of operating efficiency and ways to improve itand/or provide intelligence on the failing appliance sub-component andhow to repair it.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose and advantages of the below described illustratedembodiments will be set forth in and apparent from the description thatfollows. Additional advantages of the illustrated embodiments will berealized and attained by the devices, systems and methods particularlypointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as well asfrom the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the illustrated embodiments, in one aspect, a system and method tomonitor individual appliance performance is described in which a monitormodule is provided for aggregating data from a plurality of applianceswherein the module includes. Included in the monitor device is a gatewaydevice configured to capture operational data relating to each of theplurality of appliances and an analyzing device configured to determineindividual operational characteristics for each of the appliances fromanalysis of the captured operational data. A notification device isfurther provided which is configured to provide information to a userregarding the determined operational characteristics for each of theappliances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying appendices and/or drawings illustrate variousnon-limiting, example, inventive aspects in accordance with the presentdisclosure:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network used in conjunctionwith one or more illustrative embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example computer controlled network device/nodeused in conjunction with one or more illustrative embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an illustrative embodiment; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram depicting operation of an illustrativeembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

The illustrated embodiments are now described more fully with referenceto the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals identifysimilar structural/functional features. The illustrated embodiments arenot limited in any way to what is illustrated as the illustratedembodiments described below are merely exemplary, which can be embodiedin various forms, as appreciated by one skilled in the art. Therefore,it is to be understood that any structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as abasis for the claims and as a representation for teaching one skilled inthe art to variously employ the discussed embodiments. Furthermore, theterms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but ratherto provide an understandable description of the illustrated embodiments.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also beused in the practice or testing of the illustrated embodiments,exemplary methods and materials are now described.

It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, thesingular forms “a”, “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “astimulus” includes a plurality of such stimuli and reference to “thesignal” includes reference to one or more signals and equivalentsthereof known to those skilled in the art, and so forth.

It is to be appreciated the illustrated embodiments discussed belowpreferably include a software algorithm, program or code residing oncomputer useable medium having control logic for enabling execution on amachine having a computer processor. The machine typically includesmemory storage configured to provide output from execution of thecomputer algorithm or program.

As used herein, the term “software” is meant to be synonymous with anycode or program that can be in a processor of a host computer,regardless of whether the implementation is in hardware, firmware or asa software computer product available on a disc, a memory storagedevice, or for download from a remote machine. The embodiments describedherein include such software to implement the equations, relationshipsand algorithms described above. One skilled in the art will appreciatefurther features and advantages of the illustrated embodiments based onthe above-described embodiments. Accordingly, the illustratedembodiments are not to be limited by what has been particularly shownand described, except as indicated by the appended claims.

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar referencecharacters denote similar elements throughout the several views, FIG. 1depicts an exemplary communications network 100 in which belowillustrated embodiments may be implemented.

It is to be understood a communication network 100 is a geographicallydistributed collection of nodes interconnected by communication linksand segments for transporting data between end nodes, such as personalcomputers, work stations, smart phone devices, tablets, televisions,gaming/media consoles, smart watches, smart wristbands, sensors and orother devices such as automobiles, etc. Many types of networks areavailable, with the types ranging from local area networks (LANs) towide area networks (WANs). LANs typically connect the nodes overdedicated private communications links located in the same generalphysical location, such as a building or campus. WANs, on the otherhand, typically connect geographically dispersed nodes overlong-distance communications links, such as common carrier telephonelines, optical lightpaths, synchronous optical networks (SONET),synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) links, or Powerline Communications(PLC), and others.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an example communication network100 illustratively comprising nodes/devices 101-108 (e.g., sensors 102,client computing devices 103, smart phone devices 105, web servers 106,routers 107, switches 108, and the like) interconnected by variousmethods of communication. For instance, the links 109 may be wired linksor may comprise a wireless communication medium, where certain nodes arein communication with other nodes, e.g., based on distance, signalstrength, current operational status, location, etc. Moreover, each ofthe devices can communicate data packets (or frames) 142 with otherdevices using predefined network communication protocols as will beappreciated by those skilled in the art, such as various wired protocolsand wireless protocols etc., where appropriate. In this context, aprotocol consists of a set of rules defining how the nodes interact witheach other. Those skilled in the art will understand that any number ofnodes, devices, links, etc. may be used in the computer network, andthat the view shown herein is for simplicity. Also, while theembodiments are shown herein with reference to a general network cloud,the description herein is not so limited, and may be applied to networksthat are hardwired.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an example network computingdevice 200 (e.g., an appliance monitor module) (e.g., client computingdevice 103, server 106, etc.) that may be used (or components thereof)with one or more embodiments described herein, e.g., as one of the nodesshown in the network 100. As explained above, in different embodimentsthese various devices are configured to communicate with each other inany suitable way, such as, for example, via communication network 100.

Monitor module 200 is intended to represent any type of computer systemcapable of carrying out the teachings of various embodiments of thepresent invention. Monitor module 200 is only one example of a suitablesystem and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope ofuse or functionality of embodiments of the invention described herein.Regardless, monitor module 200 is capable of being implemented and/orperforming any of the functionality set forth herein.

Monitor module 200 is operational with numerous other general purpose orspecial purpose computing system environments or configurations.Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with monitor module 200include, but are not limited to, micro-controllers, personal computersystems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, hand-heldor laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems,set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,minicomputer systems, and distributed data processing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Monitor module 200 may be described in the general context of computersystem-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executedby a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines,programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Monitor module 200 may be practiced in distributed data processingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed dataprocessing environment, program modules may be located in both local andremote computer system storage media including memory storage devices.

Monitor module 200 is shown in FIG. 2 in the form of a general-purposecomputing device. The components of device 200 may include, but are notlimited to, one or more processors or processing units 216, a systemmemory 228, and a bus 218 that couples various system componentsincluding system memory 228 to processor 216.

Bus 218 represents one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Monitor module 200 typically includes a variety of computer systemreadable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessibleby device 200, and it includes both volatile and non-volatile media,removable and non-removable media.

System memory 228 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 230 and/or cachememory 232. Computing device 200 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 234 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”) and from remote locateddatabase (e.g., “cloud” based storage devices). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other media (e.g., a USB storagedevice) can be provided. In such instances, each can be connected to bus218 by one or more data media interfaces. As will be further depictedand described below, memory 228 may include at least one program producthaving a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configuredto carry out the functions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 240, having a set (at least one) of program modules 215,such as underwriting module, may be stored in memory 228 by way ofexample, and not limitation, as well as an operating system, one or moreapplication programs, other program modules, and program data. Each ofthe operating system, one or more application programs, other programmodules, and program data or some combination thereof, may include animplementation of a networking environment. Program modules 215generally carry out the functions and/or methodologies of embodiments ofthe invention as described herein.

Monitor module 200 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 214 (either via a wired connection or wireless), such as akeyboard, smart phone device, a pointing device, a display 224, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with monitor module200; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enablemonitor module 200 to communicate with one or more other computingdevices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces222. Still yet, monitor module 200 can communicate with one or morenetworks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network(WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter220. As depicted, network adapter 220 communicates with the othercomponents of computing device 200 via bus 218. It should be understoodthat although not shown, other hardware and/or software components couldbe used in conjunction with device 200. Examples, include, but are notlimited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units,external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archivalstorage systems, etc.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are intended to provide a brief, general description of anillustrative and/or suitable exemplary environment in which embodimentsof the below described present invention may be implemented. FIGS. 1 and2 are exemplary of a suitable environment and are not intended tosuggest any limitation as to the structure, scope of use, orfunctionality of an embodiment of the present invention. A particularenvironment should not be interpreted as having any dependency orrequirement relating to any one or combination of components illustratedin an exemplary operating environment. For example, in certaininstances, one or more elements of an environment may be deemed notnecessary and omitted. In other instances, one or more other elementsmay be deemed necessary and added.

With the exemplary communication network 100 (FIG. 1 ) and monitormodule 200 (FIG. 2 ) being generally shown and discussed above,description of certain illustrated embodiments of the present inventionwill now be provided. With reference now to FIG. 3 it is to beunderstood and appreciated significant development and use of “smarthome” related technologies have been made and the smart home sector isadvancing rapidly. The illustrated embodiments provide a hardware andsoftware control system operational and configured to providecentralized monitoring and/or control of appliance devices, preferablyfrom aggregated appliance data. It is to be understood, appliancedevices 300 as referred to herein consists of resourcing consumingdevices that consume one or more or electricity, water, gas and oil(hereinafter collectively referred to as “resources”). Examples include(and are not limited to): HVAC systems, compressor systems, clothesdryers, clothes washers, water management systems, dishwashers, cookingovens, media and entertainment systems, cooking ranges (gas andelectric), lighting systems, household appliances (coffee makers,toasters, other plug-in devices); personal and/or portable computersystems and devices; water heaters; refrigerators and other applianceconfigurations configured to consume one or more resources (e.g.,electricity, water, gas and/or oil). The appliances 300 may beassociated with a household or a commercial establishment. Theappliances 300 may also be associated with a predetermined grouping ofhouseholds 300 (as discussed further below).

Each appliance 300 is preferably operatively coupled to one or moreresource distribution devices 400 configured and operable to deliverenergy resources (e.g., electricity, water, gas and/or oil) to thecoupled appliances. For instance, an exemplary resource distributiondevices 400 may include an electrical fuse box, a water metering deviceand/or a gas metering device. For ease of description and illustrationpurposes, only a single resource distribution device 400 is shown,however it is to be understood the present invention may encompass useof various types of resource distribution devices 400 to each deliver aspecified resource type (e.g., electricity, water, gas and/or oil).

The monitor module 200 in accordance with an illustrated embodimentpreferably includes one or more of a: gateway device 210; analyzingdevice 220; notification device 230; database 240; gaming module 250 anda control module 260, the functionality of each is briefly describedbelow. It is to be appreciated, each aforesaid component may exist as astandalone component (as illustrated in FIG. 3 ), or may be combinedwith one another.

Starting with the gateway device 210, it is preferably configured andoperative to operably couple to the one or more resource distributiondevices 400 to capture operational data relating to one or more of theappliances 300. Such operational data may include one or all operatingparameters of an appliance (e.g., resource consumption, resourceconsumptions rate, operation load levels, operation time periods,operation efficiency and the like). It is to be appreciated the gatewaydevice may be hardwired to the one or more resource distribution devices400 and/or appliance devices 300, or alternatively may be connectedthereto wirelessly through any known network means (e.g., WAN, LAN,WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, cellular, the Internet, or any other suitablead-hoc network type) including usage of a “cloud” based service systems500.

Monitor module 200 further includes analyzing device 220 preferablyconfigured and operative to determine individual operationalcharacteristics for one or more of the appliances 300 via analysis ofcaptured operational data, preferably via data disaggregation techniques(as further described below). Notification device 230 is preferablyconfigured and operative to provide information (e.g., via a GUI, textmessage, email and the like) to a user (e.g., homeowner, buildingmanager or other designated individuals) regarding determinedoperational characteristics for the one or more appliances 300.

The monitor module 200 further preferably includes a database 240containing expected operating thresholds formed from individualappliance power consumption for the one or more appliances 300 (e.g.,electrical, water or gas use and run time data). The database 240 isconfigured and operational to interact with the notification device 230,for instance, to alert a user upon variation of individualizedoperational data from expected operating thresholds for the one or moreappliances 300. It is to be appreciated the analyzing device 220 anddatabase 240 may be Internet-based (e.g., “cloud” based 500) and thuslocated remote from the gateway device 210 so as to be arranged incommunication with the gateway device 210 to receive and processcaptured operational data regarding the one or more appliances 300. Itis to be further appreciated the analyzing device 220 and database 240may be configured and operational to determine operationalcharacteristics of appliances 300 from a plurality of differenthouseholds, the significance of which will be appreciated below. Thesignificance of which will also be appreciated from the belowdescription, the database 240 may include stored information relating toa specific appliance type, data may include historically-compiled datafiltered through a statistical analysis. The database 240 may stillfurther include a second database having commercially-availableoperational data for a range of appliances and a third database havingrecommendations data enabling the analysis device 220 to compareappliance operational data with both the historically-compiled data andcommercially-available operational data to provide a recommendation inconjunction with notifying a user.

A gaming module 250 may be further included (or operatively coupled to)monitor module 200 that is preferably configured and operative toprovide gamification (electronic gameplay) utilizing the determinedindividual operational characteristics of one or more appliances 300.Examples of such gaming scenarios may include different members of ahousehold challenging one another, different households challenging oneanother, or households may be grouped together to form teams whichchallenge one another (examples of teams include neighborhoods, membersof a type of military service grouped together (e.g., Army, Navy) orother designated team types/categories).

A control module 260 may be further included (or operatively coupled to)monitor module 200 that is preferably configured and operative tocontrol overall and individual resource consumptions by one or moreappliances 300 in accordance with the teachings of one or moreillustrated embodiments.

Additionally, monitor module 270 may be configured and operative togenerate a graphical user interface configured (in association with theanalyzing device 220) to: gather contextual information related to useractivity and a daily schedule; gather information about user comfort andservice preferences; display energy/water/gas use feedback to a user;display energy/water/gas saving opportunities in compliance with auser's evolving behavior; recommend use of renewable energy source andstored energy within a household; and display incentive or motivationalinformation to a user based on observed energy/water/gas use behaviorand adaptive to a user's energy/water/gas use pattern.

The aforesaid monitoring device 200 may be further configured to monitora household's occupant activity levels, appliance usage, water and gasusage, for configuring an appliance, water or gas source use schedule toachieve energy/water/gas savings associated with home operation.Additionally, the monitoring device 200 is further configured to detectand determine a life event change by detecting usage variations for oneor more of electricity, water and gas consumption to determine a lifechange event in a dwelling (e.g., birth, death, divorce, child off tocollege, bought a new electric car that they charge into the home,bought a new appliance that needs a warranty, etc.).

With reference now to FIG. 4 , shown is a flow chart demonstratingimplementation of the various exemplary embodiments. It is noted thatthe order of steps shown in FIG. 4 is not necessarily required, so inprinciple, the various steps may be performed out of the illustratedorder. Also certain steps may be skipped, different steps may be addedor substituted, or selected steps or groups of steps may be performed ina separate application following the embodiments described herein.

With reference to FIG. 4 (and with continuing reference to FIG. 3 ),starting at step 410, operational data from one or more appliancedevices (300) is captured, and preferably aggregated, via preferably thegateway device (210) coupled to one or more resource distributiondevices (400), as discussed above. Next, at step 420, the capturedoperational data is analyzed, preferably in a de-aggregated state,preferably in the analyzing device (220) to determine operationalcharacteristics of the one or more appliances (300), as mentioned above.It is noted in an illustrated embodiment, the aforesaid analyzed data(step 420) may be gamified, via gaming module 250, to present variouselectronic gaming scenarios as discussed above, step 440. Additionally,it is noted in another illustrated embodiment, the aforesaid analyzeddata (step 420) may be utilized to control one or more operationalaspect of the one or more appliances (300) via gaming module 250, asalso discussed above, step 450. Notification is then provided to a userin step 430, providing notice, and possibly action items to take, basedupon the aforesaid analysis of aggregated data for operationalcharacteristics for one or more appliances (300), as mentioned abovewith reference to FIG. 3 .

With certain illustrated embodiments described above, it is to beappreciated that various non-limiting embodiments described herein maybe used separately, combined or selectively combined for specificapplications. Further, some of the various features of the abovenon-limiting embodiments may be used without the corresponding use ofother described features. The foregoing description should therefore beconsidered as merely illustrative of the principles, teachings andexemplary embodiments of this invention, and not in limitation thereof.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are onlyillustrative of the application of the principles of the illustratedembodiments. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may bedevised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope ofthe illustrated embodiments, and the appended claims are intended tocover such modifications and arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system to monitor individual applianceperformance for providing notification relating to appliance performancein a dwelling, comprising: a gateway device positioned in the dwellingconfigured to capture operational data relating to each of a pluralityof appliances in the dwelling; an analyzing device, coupled to thegateway device, configured to determine individual operationalcharacteristics for each of the appliances from analysis of the capturedoperational data so as to determine variation of individualizedoperational data from expected operating thresholds regarding applianceoperation; and a notification device, coupled to the analyzing device,configured to provide information to a user regarding the determinedoperational characteristics for each of the appliances responsive todetermining occurrence of individualized operational data variation ofone or more of the plurality of appliances.
 2. The system as recited inclaim 1, further including a gaming module configured to provideelectronic gameplay whereby the determined appliance individualoperational characteristics associated with a user is compared againstdetermined appliance individual operational characteristics associatedwith at least one other user.
 3. The system as recited in claim 1,wherein each appliance is chosen from a group of appliances capable ofconsuming one or more of electricity, water and gas resources.
 4. Thesystem as recited in claim 2, wherein the gateway device iscommunicatively coupled to a circuit breaker device in the dwellingwhich is communicatively coupled to each of the plurality of appliances.5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the gateway device iscommunicatively coupled to a computer server which is communicativelycoupled to each of the plurality of appliances in the dwelling.
 6. Thesystem as recited in claim 2, wherein the appliances are chosen from thegroup consisting of at least a lighting system/component, clothes dryer,washing machine, dishwasher, video/audio device and HVAC device.
 7. Thesystem as recited in claim 1, further including a database havingprescribed operating appliance thresholds regarding resource consumptionand operating time data associated with the plurality of appliances inthe dwelling.
 8. The system as recited in claim 1, further including acontrol module operatively coupled to the monitor module for controllingan operational aspect for each of the coupled appliances.
 9. The systemas recited in claim 8, wherein the monitoring device further comprises agraphical user interface and data processing apparatus, wherein thegraphical user interface is configured to: gather contextual informationrelated to user activity for each coupled appliance; gather informationregarding user appliance service preferences; display appliance resourceconsumption; and display alternative modes of operation for the coupledappliances to mitigate resource consumption.
 10. The system as recitedin claim 1, wherein the monitoring device is further configured todetect and determine a life event change regarding a user for one of thecoupled appliances by detecting certain usage variations regarding atleast one coupled appliance.
 11. A computer method for monitoringindividual appliance performance and for providing notification relatingto appliance performance in a dwelling, comprising: capturingoperational data relating to each of a plurality of appliances via agateway device positioned in the dwelling; determining, in an analyzingdevice coupled to the gateway device, individual operationalcharacteristics for each of the appliances from analysis of the capturedoperational data so as to determine variation of individualizedoperational data from expected operating thresholds regarding applianceoperation; and providing information to a user, via a notificationdevice coupled to the analyzing device, regarding the determinedoperational characteristics for each of the appliances responsive todetermining occurrence of individualized operational data variation ofone or more of the plurality of appliances.
 12. The computer method asrecited in claim 11, further including providing electronic gameplay,via a gaming module, associated with determined appliance individualoperational characteristics whereby a user is compared againstdetermined appliance individual operational characteristics associatedwith at least one other user.
 13. The computer method as recited inclaim 12, wherein each appliance is chosen from a group of appliancescapable of consuming one or more of electricity, water and gasresources.
 14. The computer method as recited in claim 12, wherein thegateway device is communicatively coupled to a circuit breaker device inthe dwelling which is communicatively coupled to each of the pluralityof appliances.
 15. The computer method as recited in claim 12, whereinthe gateway device is communicatively coupled to a computer server whichis communicatively coupled to each of the plurality of appliances in thedwelling.
 16. The computer method as recited in claim 12, wherein theappliances are chosen from the group consisting of at least a lightingsystem/component, clothes dryer, washing machine, dishwasher,video/audio device and HVAC device.
 17. The computer method as recitedin claim 12, further including receiving information from a databasehaving prescribed operating appliance thresholds regarding resourceconsumption and operating time data associated with the plurality ofappliances in the dwelling.
 18. The computer method as recited in claim12, further including controlling an operational aspect for each of thecoupled appliances by a control module operatively coupled to themonitor module.
 19. The computer method as recited in claim 18, furtherincluding providing a graphical user interface from the monitoringmodule, wherein the graphical user interface is configured to: gathercontextual information related to user activity for each coupledappliance; gather information regarding user appliance servicepreferences; display appliance resource consumption; and displayalternative modes of operation for the coupled appliances to mitigateresource consumption.
 20. The computer method as recited in claim 19,wherein the monitoring device is further configured to detect anddetermine a life event change regarding a user for one of the coupledappliances by detecting certain usage variations regarding at least onecoupled appliance.